Mama Seasonings

Cuties

2011-06-07T07:01:00.000-05:00

Luke loves his new baseball helmet.

Reese was very concerned about the children in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", but still looked cute in her red bow.

What most of my days look like :)

And afternoons!

I am very very slowly working on making some of these. I may or may not be sharing with you the finished product depending on how they turn out.

Happy Tuesday!

What's been goin' on

2011-06-05T08:32:00.000-05:00

Things haven't seemed to slow down at the Johnson household yet, although I am looking very forward to a lazy and fun summer. Here is some of what has been going on.

Teeball was so much fun this year and we can't wait for next year!

My little fisherman caught a bunch of fish before the tornado came right over our street.

This is right after the tornados hit.

Our street used to be completely covered in trees, so many that you almost couldn't see the sky when standing on the road. There are definitely no more trees or homes for that matter.

Our boat in our neighbor's back yard.

Our old house. Now there is just a foundation.

Our neighbor's home. Remember I said that there were so many trees that you could hardly see the sky? Well this is what it is like now.

Another neighbor's house completely gone after all of the debris was cleaned up.

Reese is checking on the bass boat to see if it still works.... no luck even with her cuteness workin' on it.

Keeping a look out for some Boykin's a few houses down. We can't wait to get one soon :)

Art on the lake was fun because all of our family was there!!

Luke graduated from Kindergarten! I can't believe he will be in 1st grade next year.

All the boys on the Twins got a trophy and medal at the end of the season party.

Coach Blake made these awesome home plate picture frames with 3 different pictures of each player and the team. It was so cool.

Being the team mom this year one thing I was in charge of was the party. I made a Baseball Pinata at home from newspaper and flour and water and a big balloon. It was messy and fun and lasted a lot longer than I thought it would.

That's all I got for now. See you soon :)

Happy Birthday Grahammy Poo!!!

2011-04-19T10:56:00.000-05:00

This is a very special day. I am married to the reason that makes this day so special. Although he said to me last night a lot of crazy/bad things have happened around his birthday, it has nothing on him.

The Lord has blessed me so much to have allowed me to be with this man for almost 12 years now, both in our dating relationship and our marriage. He puts up with me and I don't know how, but I am SO SO grateful :) He has taught me many things over these years and I hope I have had the same impact on him. God has truly blessed both of us.

He is a better dad than I could have ever imagined and is loved more and more every single day by Luke and Reese. He is my rock and loves the Lord.

This past weekend we celebrated his birthday at the lake and he said he wanted smoked chicken and a crappie cake. I knew exactly what he was talking about. He definitely got his wish because Graham, Luke, Taylor and Jay caught 15 crappie and a catfish.

He spent a few hours cleaning all of them and we are eating them tomorrow night for his birthday dinner since he is working. His forearms were so burned!

He is definitely still SO good lookin and has been since he was little. Graham and my cousin David were great buddies and played soccer together when they were younger. David was like an older brother to me and was so protective and would not let me date anyone, but Graham. Thanks David, I owe it all to you!!!

He is the best uncle and will surely be teaching them all sorts of great and crazy things as they grow, even the furry ones.

He was SO cute as a little boy! And that is obviously an Atlanta Braves hat ; )

This picture completely cracks me up and I'd love for Annie to tell us what he is doing. He didn't like "mixed up food" aka casserole's or "nohdles" so he must have found something that he did like.

Happy Birthday my love!!! Me encanta tu!!!

And just for kicks, here is the song for your listening pleasure of what I would sing and put on repeat and drive my family crazy listening to when we first started dating.

Can I get an AMEN for this stud!!!

I moved to NYC.....

2011-04-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

for an extended weekend :)

A couple weeks ago I received an early birthday present from my parents. It was a plane ticket to see my little sis, Riley, in NYC! Boy was it fun!

Reese is modeling her new super-stylish outfit from New York City. I loved the little white sailor pants and wish they had them in my size.

When I first got there, 2 hours late thank you plane delays, I met Riley and some of her co-workers for Happy Hour. It was so great to put some faces with names and meet all of them, they are so sweet!!

Then we got a cab to go to her apartment and I found $5! What a great start to the trip, haha.

We dropped my bag off and headed to Brother Jimmy's for some grub and had to get a pic of the Auburn flag proudly displayed on the ceiling. Karaoke started soon after we got our food and we left, too tired to tackle karaoke that night :)

The next night we headed to Diablo and it was so delish!! So cool on the inside and I'd recommend anyone going there and trying the Mango Margarita, it's got a little kick to it and is so delicious.

Brunch at (i can't remember the name help me Riley!) and then we headed off to shop till we dropped and just hang out in the city. Riley had to work for half a day so I ventured, alone, to Century 21 and around that area and met up with her later.

Then we went to a really cool place called The Smith and I loved the interior of it and didn't have my camera so I didn't take any pictures. It was her friend Katie's birthday so we had a huge group of 13 girls. I'll never forget that night and we made some super fun memories that we'll only talk about when we are 50 :)

Our 30 second stop in Times Square was tourist packed and I understand why people who actually live in NYC avoid it like the subway at night. Of course we had to fight our way through there to go to the 5 story Forever 21 and then headed home to chill out before I had to get back to reality the next day.

I miss RiRi so much and had the BEST time with her. We are going to make it an annual trip and I can't wait! Thank you for having me and putting up with me Riley!!!! Love you!

I love New York City. I am so excited to be going back in May for the Stationary Show to represent Sweet Pea Designs. Although that trip will be more work than play, any excuse to even be in the city is one I'll gladly accept.

Happy Friday!!

2011-04-15T07:09:00.000-05:00

I was so excited to be able to go with Luke's class to the Golden Flake Factory a few weeks ago. I remember SO well going on the same field trip when I was his age and it was one of the best times I'd ever had.

The BEST part is when you get to eat potato chips right out of the fryer. Oh my goodness. I had remembered that part of it when I went as a child, but somehow forgot just how yummy it is.

I am seriously considering doing this on a regular basis. It just enriches our lives, right?!

Silly Reesie Poo!

Reese loves hanging out at the baseball park playing with rocks, drawing on the sidewalk with chalk and screaming through the fence, "GOOOOOOOO LUUUUUUTTTEEEEEEYYYYYY BOOOOOYYYYYY!!!!!!!"

#45 was Graham's football number in high school and Luke is carrying on the tradition and is doing a fantastic job. He is the lead off batter and plays 3rd base. At his game on Saturday, first up, he hit a home run to start the Twins and played so hard and took home the Game Ball!

Catch me if you can!

2011-04-11T15:06:00.000-05:00

Hi!

It's been a while and I need to catch you up on happening's around here.

First of all, I just cancelled our cable tv. Are you cringing? Think I'm nuts? The charter lady sure thought I was. Summer is not for tv and we plan on being outdoors a lot and when we are not outdoors I don't want to be watching the ~~crap~~ shows on tv that make me feel dumber by the second. If we decide that we can't live without it then I have no problem turning it back on. We'll see how it goes!

Luke loves math books. Say WHA? Yes, he has almost finished 2 addition and subtraction books that he got for Christmas and is up before the birds counting away. I walked into his room at about 6 am one morning and found this. Thank you Lord for not passing on my hatred of math to my offspring!

We are in the midst of baseball season and l.o.v.i.n.g. it! Luke was first up to bat Saturday and started the game off with a home run!!! You would have thought you were at the Iron Bowl the way everyone was screaming and cheering!

Ree Ree still loves music and dancing and will shake a tail feather to just about any beat, even a rickety grocery cart wheel.

Dip Cones. Yum.

More updates to come!!

Pretty Slave Driver

2011-03-17T16:12:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I had an appointment with a cardiologist and Graham ended up keeping Ree at the office for a couple of hours. He is the best husband and obviously loves me so much to invite a wild-2 year old-precious-angel-baby into his office for a little distraction.

I think this picture is SO hilarious because her personality is growing more and more everyday and I've been told a time or two that she is FULL of it- personality that is.

Graham wasn't kidding when he said she went right to work. The paper she was drawing on was almost covered in little squiggle marks. When I saw this picture he sent me, I almost cried and definitely dropped my jaw about a foot. It was like a flash forward of what she will be like in 5, 10, 15, 20 years..... just like her daddy, concentrating so hard and working away. Thank you Lord for precious children and for camera phones!!!!

Blessings to all of YOU!

Sold

2011-02-27T18:59:00.000-06:00

Bye bye wonderful car!

I'll miss you!!

Now onto a new a new car that I will love just as much hopefully!

Minivans need N.O.T. apply : )

Disclaimer: Nothing against minivans or anyone who drives any kind of van at all, they are just not for me.

When it rains....

2011-02-25T10:43:00.000-06:00

it pours, and blows-knock-you-over-gusts-of-wind, and basset hounds get out and walk in front of cars, and cars crash into each other, and little girls get sick, all night long, and mommy and daddy change sheets and outfits for everyone about half a dozen times, and sleep next to a bowl and a baby on the floor, praying that no one else gets sick, praying for daylight to hurry up and come......

via

Nope, this is not part of a new drama series and no I am not making this up. This was our night last night.

It was about 9:45, I was in the kitchen and saw a basset hound wandering down our street (for the umpteenth time-according to the neighbor's) and a car stopped with it. My first thought was that it was the owner picking up their lost dog, but then they sat there for about 5 minutes and then sped off. I was worried that they had hit the dog, so I ran outside and saw it run off. I called it a few times and think she was confused because she kind of ran in my direction, then in another direction and off into the dark. We peeked out a few more times, couldn't find her, so we assumed she ran home. About 10 minutes later, I heard one of the worst sounds.

Screeching tires, crashing cars and then deep, long and loud howling. I was outside within 8 seconds with Graham right behind me. We ran to the street and saw the first car, then the poor dog laying in the road and then a truck behind the dog. My heart completely sunk. Her back half and right paw were in really bad shape. Graham and I ran to the house that I knew she belonged to and at 10 p.m., knocked on their door. They came to the door and didn't look happy at all. We told him what had happened and he said it couldn't have been their dog because, Lucy, was in the basement fast asleep! Phew! He did know whose dog it was though and went to get them. I was SO relieved that it wasn't Lucy, but still so sad for this dog, Jingle Bell, and her family. She was so badly injured and probably won't make it through and I'm so sad for them.

I tell you all this so that if you have a dog and let it roam around the neighborhood, to please stop it! I don't know about where you live, but we have a leash law and I am a HUGE, HUGE advocate of it. For the safety of your dog and other's they might attack, because you just never know.

When all of that was over, we came back inside to hear Reese calling out, "Moooooooooommy!" I walked into her room and knew, even in the dark, that she was sick. So the rest of the night went as you can imagine and we are all barely chuggin' along today. Such a weird and LONG night. I hate stomach bugs because just a few hours earlier, we were having a dance party in my car!

Everybody dance now!

New Adventure's and Baseball

2011-02-22T07:54:00.000-06:00

The weather we've been having lately is so refreshing and I needed it badly! We have been playing outside a lot and mainly Turbo has been riding in the back of a dump truck down a hill....

it's pretty hilarious. Reese is always telling Luke to, "DO IT GAIN LUTEY BOY!!!!!" He goes SO fast and if the dump truck were just a little bit bigger... or if mama's hips were just a little bit smaller maybe I should say, I'd be doing some Extreme Downhill Dump Trucking right along with him.

Ree Ree's personality is coming out even more, if you can imagine that. She is sort of turning into a little girly girl and wanting to wear dresses, but not dress-ups, and bows sometimes.

We have also started a new sport. Baseball!!!!! Reese calls it 'bayball' and when she says it, she shouts it from the top of her little cheerleader voice. She cheers for all the boys on Luke's team and even gets a little bossy at times, but they don't pay he any attention.

Look at all those cute boys!!! I was so excited when I found out that we were on the same team with Luke's buddies from school, I went and volunteered for Team Mom! We are the Twins and I love it because 2 of the buddies are twins themselves and their dad is the head coach. Perfect!

If any of you have been a Team Mom before, send on the advice please. I am very excited about it and don't think it should be too hard :)

We sent our parents this picture of Luke after his first practice and they both said that he looked really hot but looked so happy.

At first when I saw this picture, I thought the color was really off because of how RED Luke's face was. I looked down at his arms and saw that the color was not off. His face really was that red and he really was that happy.

So, here's to little boys and baseball, little sister's playing around with bubbles at the baseball park and SPRING!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-15T07:04:00.000-06:00

No matter what your relationship is with Love Day, it's always nice to have an excuse to do something special for the one's that you love. Graham and I spent our first Valentine's Day at Dave's Pizza 13 years ago..... wow, that is a looooong time. No matter where we were, we have celebrated with pizza ever since and it has been so much fun! There is no pressure of fancy dinner's, chocolate's, flowers, gifts or anything else.

This year I made some pink heart pancakes for my little loves :) They were very light pink I promise, you just can not tell in the pictures!

Ya Ya invited us over for a Valentine's lunch and it was so special! She had the table set with red, pink, white and lovely teacups. Bud Bud was able to come by on his lunch break too!! Hey Bud Bud!!!

February 14 just so happens to be my parents wedding anniversary too! Isn't that so cute, I've always thought it was so special.

We had turkey and PBJ heart sandwiches, Chicken salad, grapes, carrots, sun chips and some "rainbow/tie-dyed" cupcakes with sprinkles.

Luke had already gotten into some Fun Dip and as a result he came to the table with greenish purply lips!

Here are our heart shaped pizza's from last night. I have started making my own pizza dough and I LOVE it. I will share the recipe with you soon!

Omigoodness

2011-02-01T20:37:00.001-06:00

Right now......

I am clipping coupons....

Glen and Turbo are wrestling on the hardwood floor with full bellies....

Ree has an empty box of diapers on her head........

This is what we've been up to the past few months :)

Luke went hunting for the very first time and "saw a real live doe!"

Reesie has become quite the little mommy and always wants to be on the counter or in my arms while I'm cooking.

Ya Ya and Bud Bud dropped the Wii off (completely against my will) and we had some fun with it!

I went down with my dad, mom and sister Riley to visit with Uncle Bill, Aunt Patsy, Aunt Sylvia and Ellen and had the best time. I had the ab workout that I've been needing and cried tears of joy and some of pain (more on that another time). Abby wasn't able to go when we did so we decided to go down to Tuscaloosa again!

The pictures are blurry and because of that they make me kind of crazy. Anyway, this is my Uncle Bill, which is really my dad's uncle so he is actually my great uncle. I love this man with all my heart.

He is so precious and dear to me! My father-in-love actually put his pacemaker in a few years ago and I'm so glad that he did and that it's still working so well!

After lunch we sent the dad's outside with the kids. The rest of us looked through a very old family picture in which Sylvia and Bill were children along with my Grizzdaddy who is in heaven. I loved hearing all of the names, old stories, nicknames and everything that they had to say. I can't believe it but they remembered EVERYTHING and EVERYONE! Made me feel a little ridiculous when I can't remember the name of someone I just met...... uh.....

Please keep his health in your prayers, I love him dearly :)

Then we celebrated Ya Ya's birthday at our house with steak and lobster! We or really I should say my dad and mom are big into scuba diving! I am certified and so is G-love, but we are limited to how much we are able to go diving. One day when our funds are more adequate, we will take their place and tickle some lobster's and spear some tuna!

Here she is opening her Kate Spade purse that Riley and my dad bought her. Priceless!

Riley was not only with us in spirit but with us via Skype!

Hand off little girls! You've got to earn this bag! Although they obviously have great taste and couldn't stand not to climb up and see what was so shiny!

That's all I got people!

Let me say one more thing. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, more important than the Lord or Father and our family and loved one's. Hold them so very close and tell them you love them way too much.

Well, well, well....

2011-01-27T07:53:00.000-06:00

look who decided to show up?! Me!

Life has been an absolute whirlwind the past 3 weeks. I will have a catch up post coming soon, but not today. Today it is rather tricky for me to type because, you see, I have a puncture wound in my right wrist on the outer side. No I do not need a psychiatric evaluation, but after breaking my wine decanter into 4 million pieces in my sink (thank the Lord) I looked down and and saw about 3/4" of gaping flesh that was about 1/2" deep.

Thankfully my family was seconds away from my house anyway to celebrate my Mom's birthday. Right when sister nurse and brother doctor walked in they said I could use a few stitches. I was NOT about to to listen to them, what does the medical profession know anyway?! Pshh! But really, my sister gasped and looked at me with her huge, pretty, brown eyes and my brother-in-love said, "Eh, you could definitely use a few stitches, buuuuuut......" and before he could even finish I had already pitched a fit about the shots and the E.R. and my mom's birthday dinner and well, that option was majorly over ruled.

So I need to stop typing before it rips open for the 4th time. I have got my brace on so I am just thankful for these things that keep your hand perfectly straight and leave me somewhat functional for things like wiping bottoms, turning door handles and car keys, opening sippie cups and typing!

I'll leave you with these beauties that I am looking at this morning that I would love to walk all over.

all fabulous rugs

and that's not even all of them! Happy Thursday!!

Happy Birthday to My Lukey Boy!

2010-12-30T23:05:00.000-06:00

This post is late (in fact, i am sitting here at 11:02 and I'm the last one up! can you believe it?!) in the day and for a very good reason. We have been having a birthday celebration ALL. DAY. LONG! Actually, all week long!!

Let me first back up to Tuesday when we had a surprise birthday lunch at Yaya's house! Luke COULD NOT believe that it was all for him. He was SO precious. We had pizza, juice boxes, blue and orange balloons, some of our favorite people and lots of laughs and love and presents!

The day started with birthday pancakes, with whipped cream and strawberries. Luke had his fill and then they were off to explore the woods at the lake.

Later all the boys enjoyed hitting golf balls into the lake, a little baseball, a lot of Luke's present from Landon which is a neat little contraption that supposedly can soar almost 200 yards!

It was SO fun and even more fun to watch!

We had homemade pizza for dinner and Luke had an extra special "6" for his pizza then we sang Happy Birthday to an "L" shaped yummy Chocolate Chip cookie!!

We've had lots of fun with these glasses the last few days. I didn't post all the pictures because I love my family and don't want to completely embarrass them, but just for fun....... :)

He was so thankful for all of his gifts and we can't wait to play with him tomorrow!!

The night ended with me putting Turbo to bed and singing him Happy Birthday in his ear one last time. I couldn't help but cry when I was praying with him and then thankfully daddy swooped in and had to finish the prayer. I am so thankful for my sweet boy. Luke, you have the biggest heart and it is overflowing with love for everyone. You are always the first to give a hug and so forgiving. You laughter is infectious and your big brown eyes can melt my heart right away in the blink of an eye. I hope you never lose you love of life, love of learning and eagerness and curiosity about all things - especially the Lord. Daddy and I love when you ask questions like these and about the Lord and how He does all things because we know when you ask, you will listen and absorb and remember every single word. We better make sure we have our facts and story right now shouldn't we?!

Happy 6th Birthday Luke!!!!!!!!! You look like you even grew 6 cm maybe?? or are you 60 today?? Brown thinks you are : )

Thank you to everyone for the emails, cards, gifts, text's, calls, love, hugs and kisses for Turbo!!

We love you so much my sweet angel and I am so deeply grateful for every single hair on your head. I love you past the moon, stars, road and cars and the new road ; )

Merry Wrapping

2010-12-24T09:17:00.000-06:00

I forgot to share with y'all my marvelous idea. At least I had never seen it before, so it was new to me at least! I bought a HUGE 30" x 1,090 ft roll of butcher paper for ALL of my wrapping needs, probably for the next 5 years. It weighed 37 lbs.! I also purchased some colorful yarn and I'm loving wrapping all of my presents in this and it is simple and classic and so pretty.

This is completely off subject of wrapping, but what do you eat on Christmas morning when you are opening presents? I have a few ideas of what to make but would LOVE some new suggestions!

The Club 2010

2010-12-24T09:02:00.000-06:00

Our family has a wonderful tradition that we have had going for the past 20 years. Every year around Christmas we all dress up and enjoy a night, (sans kiddo's-at least for now I think) and have a steak dinner. The orange rolls are so good and I thought they had done away with them when they didn't bring them out immediately. I was relieved when I saw plates and plates of them being carried out!

Thanks to Lindsay this year for all the great pictures!

I love my family so much! There were a lot missing this year and we definitely missed them! I want to always continue this tradition so that my children can have this awesome memory and pass on to their children. I might try and dig up some The Club pictures waaaaaaaaay back in the archives. Should give all of us a laugh or 10.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Merriment to you!

2010-12-21T08:33:00.000-06:00

Season's greetings!!

It has been a while since I posted and for good reason. It has been so busy around here, I'm sure just like it has been at your house. Last weekend when the Mr. was away hunting, we had a weekend full of excitement. It started out with a trip to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa that went much better than I thought it would.

There were whisper's of snow and flurries for a few days but anytime there is mention of that around Alabama, it seems the grocery store's empty and everyone kind of panics. I have just learned to take it with a grain of salt. Well, it actually did ~~snow~~ flurry and we ran around in it until our nose and toes were frozen.

What did you say? Where's the snow? Well, see that white burry blob to the left of Ree ree's head? Yep. That's the snow! It didn't stick at all, but we still had fun in it!

We got a jump start on making Christmas cookies and it was so much fun.

Reese was a pro and took more of a watercolor impressionistic approach.

Luke did such a great job and had a more literal and perfectionistic approach.

All of the cookies were equally delicious and maybe even more than any other cookie because of the little hands that painted them : )

Monday Luke celebrated his birthday with his class because his birthday falls 5 days after Christmas and they won't be in school. Does anyone have a near Christmas birthday and celebrate it on their half birthday? I'm interested to hear from you!

Luke's school's Christmas program is always so precious. Turbo was nervous about getting up there this year so we practiced a lot and once he spotted mama in the crowd I saw a look of relief come across his face.

They sang Christmas carols and recited Luke 2:10-14. Some of the children even came out in front to say short parts of another verse and I was so impressed!

All of the kids looked like angels in their red choir robes with the white monogrammed collars.

Then we celebrated with a cookie and punch reception where there are 4 tables full of sweet and chocolatey goodness! Reese had a minimum of 5 cookies and those are the only one's that I saw.

I love all of Luke's friends and seeing them interact and listening to what a bunch of 5 and 6 year old boys have to talk about. If you need a good laugh then I encourage you to listen in.

Then this cute city slicker has come into town and is staying with us and we love having her all to ourselves!!

We will be finishing up our Christmas shopping, making more, more, more Christmas cookies that I can't wait to share with you and just enjoying this precious time all together with all of our families. Hope y'all are doing the same and making goodies with your loved one's as well!

Shalom!!!

Peace be with you!!

A little sparkle

2010-12-10T21:48:00.000-06:00

We have been busy decorating for Christmas!

Dreaming of Santa coming down the chimney,

and of course sharing him :)

We finally got our new couch and you can see just a corner of it in this picture.

Mr. J is in heaven right now because A. Reese is sitting still, B. Reese is snuggling, C. Luke is being still, D. Luke is snuggling and F. All of the above.

Today I hit up a local goody store and found these beauties! There were 18 of them and I snatched them up before anyone else saw them.

They are mine! All mine! But you can come over for some champagne and dessert if you want to.

THEN, y'all, I found THIS. It is 100% real Rabbit fur. I know absolutely n.o.t.h.i.n.g. about fur and have never owned anything real fur.

It is so cute and I can't wait to wear it with my little grey J.Crew dress to our annual The Club family dinner in two weeks. And to the grocery, and christmas shopping, and to take the trash to the street.

Admittedly and I'm very disgruntled to say this, but I'm having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. I have never, ever had this problem before. I need something to jump start me.

Tell me, what are you doing to get into the Christmas spirit?!

Happy weekend :)

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2010-12-06T07:43:00.000-06:00

I have made this three times in a month. Well, five if you count the two people I shared the recipe with that also made it, but I didn't do any of the work so I am only taking the credit for three.

I will admit that I am not a huge fan of pumpkin- unless I am carving it, or unless I have a hint of it's taste in my coffee. Pumpkin pie doesn't usually grace my plate at Thanksgiving, I know, but once you can pick your jaw up off the floor please continue reading because it does get much better :)

I thought this year I would give pumpkin another shot. We did roast pumpkin seeds at Halloween, but I was not satisfied. So, for supper club last month I decided I would bring a dessert and I knew exactly what I wanted to bring and a) hoped everyone liked cheesecake, b) prayed everyone liked pumpkin, c) prayed my cheesecake didn't crack or fall or dry out, and c) made another dessert just in case, but didn't need it! Everyone loved it :)

The next night I served it alongside Caramel cupcakes at Reese' birthday dinner! It was a hit again! Then the NEXT night (yes folks, three nights in a row, this is how my last 2 months have looked like just about every night, and I am praising the Lord for every moment!) Laurie Anne and Taylor, back from their honeymoon in Bali, wanted to bring Reese a birthday present of 20 balloons(!) and so I just told them to stay for dinner and dessert. They loved it too and repeatedly begged me to make another cheesecake for Thanksgiving at the lake for around 30 people.

So now you know that you need to make this. Today. Tonight. This weekend. For Christmas Eve. For Christmas Day. Oh, you could even make mini cheesecakes and take them to friends, neighbors, mail and garbage men, teachers as bribes to do things for you.... just kidding! They will be your new BFF if you do make this for anyone though.

Ok, I'll stop yappin' and share with you this deliciousness!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 c Graham Cracker’s, crushed into crumbs

6 T melted butter

1/8 c sugar

½ t salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a 1 gallon ziploc bag, crush graham crackers. Melt butter and combine with crumbs and sugar in a Ziploc bag.

Spray pan with Baker’s Joy or butter and flour. I always put a piece of wax paper at the bottom and up the sides a little to make it easier to get out but you don't HAVE to do this.

Press crumbs mixture into a spring form pan and up sides about half way until it is tight and even. Bake in oven about 15-20 minutes, or until crust is a darker golden brown. Set aside and let cool completely while you make the cheesecake filling.

*I have also used a few Tart pans too and it works but I would definitely line with wax paper, or put foil on the outside in case the butter melts and leaks through the bottom*

** This is the easiest crust to make. I promise. If you are like me and look forward to eating the crust just as much (if not more) than the actual filling, then you mustn't use a store bought crust. You can make it as thick as you want it people! The crust is the better half of the cheesecake, they are married, let's not seperate them**

Cheesecake

1 lbs cream cheese at room temperature (2, 8 oz. packages)

1 1/3 c sugar

1/3 c. sour cream

10 oz can Pureed pumpkin

3 eggs at room temp, beaten

1 t Vanilla

1 t cinnamon

1 t ginger

1/2 t salt

Keep oven heated at 325 degrees.

In a mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and beat on med/high until fluffy and light. Make sure you scrape the sides of bowl because the cream cheese tends to stick to the sides and BOTTOM! Beat in sour cream, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, spices and salt until just combined. Don’t over mix. Pour into cooled crust and tap on counter to release any air bubbles.

Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours. Let it cool off and rest on counter. *The cheesecake is done when the center is firm but might jiggle just a little bit. It will continue to cook while it’s cooling off too. Serve Room temperature with homemade whipped cream.

pic: food network, recipe adapted from food network

More Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T11:14:00.000-06:00

As if I hadn't shown y'all enough pictures, I forgot to add these!

A Lake Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T10:29:00.000-06:00

We not only survived, but thrived celebrating Thanksgiving at the lake! I LOVE the lake and spending Thanksgiving there only seems right. We all arrived to the lake Tuesday night with every. single. car. packed to, literally, maximum capacity. I don't think you could have fit a tooth brush anywhere in my or Katherine's car.

Millie and Reese had lots of breakfast, lunch and dinner dates with each other and enjoyed every moment!

Wednesday was spent cooking all day long. We started around 10 a.m. and I don't think we finished until after dinner that night. We had 3 turkey's this year. This is Jay and Brown's bird being prepared to be smoked on the Green Egg.

Everyone came excited and with even more food in their arms and the ate all the food, and then lounged around and maybe even a few conked out :)

Of course Millie was the most precious and cutest almost 7 month old there is!

Here is the smoked turkey finished! It was so delicious and I hope we do this again every year.

It was so wonderful for everyone to make the trek to the lake and even some from pretty far away.

You might say that we had a "Gravy off" on the cooktop for 2 different styles of gravy. Brown and I worked on a giblet gravy until it was just right, different, but perfect for the smoked bird. Sylvia and Ned worked on the traditional gravy that was so delicious! We both win!

This is one of my favorite cakes of all time. It's an Italian Cream Cheese Cake. Anne made 2 cakes, 6 layers and every layer and bite was scrumptious. We enjoyed it for lunch and even breakfast a few days after too :)

I want some right now.

The weather was perfect to play and visit outside.

THEN the real action came when we were FIRED UP for the Auburn game. We take our Auburn football very seriously y'all. If you've ever watched a game with us you know that we are all up and down, pacing back and forth, jumping on furniture screaming at the tops of our LUNGS! Lemme tell ya, this day was no different.

After one of the best games I think I've ever been privileged to watch, Graham, Luke and Taylor had to keep their promise. Down to the water we all went! Camera's, jackets, bathing suits and headlamps in tow.

Now, when I tell you they jumped in the water, it wasn't just any water. It is the end of November and the water is about the temperature of a bathtub full of ice and ice cold water.

Our fearless boys make the plunge...

go under water completely and re-emerge our frozen heroes!

Luke was not expecting the water to be THAT cold, and for being only 5 years old, he was such a good sport.

After a warm shower and some dry clothes we were still so excited about our Auburn Tigers.

Millie and Reese were perfectly content watching some Baby Einstein on the computer with Aunt Kat.

Saturday night was our night to cook dinner and it just happened to be a very special night. We celebrated Annie's birthday and made one of her favorite's, Eggplant Parmesan from Patsy's in NYC. YUM!

The birthday dessert was a shortbread, chocolate, pecan and caramel cookie and I will be sharing the recipes soon!

It was one of the best weeks and I didn't want to come home to reality! I am so absolutely blessed with the amazing family that I am surrounded by on all sides. I could cry just thinking about how good the Lord is and that his love and grace has been rained all over me through the relationships and loved one's I have in my life. I am so undeserving and yet He continues to bless me and all of us.

I hope all of you had an equally wonderful Thanksgiving and celebrated it to the fullest! I always hate how Thanksgiving gets the boot with Christmas seeming to creep up sooner and sooner each year. I do LOVE Christmas and all that comes with it, but Thanksgiving does not get the recognition that it truly deserves. Just family and friends coming together to feast and fellowship, no gifts, no worries, no stress.

I'll be back soon with Reese' birthday pictures and hopefully lots of recipes to share!!

Hi there...

2010-11-23T07:40:00.000-06:00

Let's see... where do I begin? I have been a whirlwind lately with probably the busiest I've been in a while. I am thankful for these things that have made me busy and it's not stopping today, or tomorrow, or this weekend.

We have been busy celebrating Reese turning 2! Thank you all for the sweet comments, emails, texts, calls and everything about Reese' birthday and her birthday post. I love that funny girl more than anything and sometimes just get overwhelmed with the impact I have on her life, same with Turbo too.

My sister rented her house and had to pack up all of it in about 2 weeks. I've moved approximately like 7 times since I've been married so of course I was excited to help her pack it up, organize it up, store it up, and move it on down. Yes excited, I love helping people who really need it and are very grateful for it.

It was pretty easy because she is so dang organized and had so many things already in storage container's and an organized playroom! She is pregnant with 2 kids and her husband is in his residency, she needed some help and was so sweet and totally threw me off guard when she gave me a little gift called a Mom's Agenda. I can't wait to use it!

I want to give a shout out to my awesome friend Carrie. She welcomed a baby boy last night, after being in labor, literally, all. day. long. WOW. She is rockin' my socks off right now. I can't wait to kiss and hold that baby boy Whit and give Carrie and Nate the biggest hugs!

My family had our Thanksgiving last Sunday and it was so delicious! We had about 30 people all over my grandparents house. I was the captain, as people were saying, even though it was a total team work kind of thing. Our mom's have officially passed the torch to their children and 3 of us were in the kitchen washing china and silver and other's were watching the children play football and croquet outside. The song from Wonderpets kept ringing in my head, "What's gonna work? TEAM WORK! What's gonna work? TEAM WORK!", and I might have busted out in tune with this little ditty once or twice. I think I was just so happy that we were all there together and nothing else mattered. I am so blessed with every single family member, even the one's that we missed this year :(

Ok, darn time is catching up with me and I gotta shorthand now. I am not the best writer and tend to ramble.... not very good combination's, but I like to write how I talk.... does that make sense?

Husband is hunting right now. This may sound very Alabamaish to some of you, but I assure you I'm much classier than that ;) We eat venison. It is delicious. If you cook it the right way. If you like, I will share some recipes. If you no like, I will still share some recipes. HA!
I made my first turkey for Thanksgiving. It was fun and I hope to do it again some other year.
My little girl is 2. She's hilarious. Is starting to pick on so many things and talk (with words) more. She copies every single thing that any single person might do. I need to be more aware of this!
Graham's family is having Thanksgiving at the lake again this year and I am making 2 pecan pies, tons of Squash casserole, a Pumpkin Cheesecake (which 2 people have already asked me for the recipe b/c I made it for our supper club and Ree Ree's birthday dinner), and it's out of this world.
People with experience. Which is better to have in your back yard for 2 small children; Trampoline or Swing set? Where can I get a swing set that doesn't cost a total fortune? Any ideas that y'all can share? and shhhhh it might be for Christmas.

The pictures were not of us, sorry. I have not had any time to upload from my camera, but I'll be sharing with you soon I hope!

Lastly, but not leastly (not a word until just now), I am thankful for you. Sometimes I have a love/hate relationship with mine and just blogs in general. Why do we share all these things with total strangers? We don't even know who all is reading this?! But I try not to think about that too much and focus on the positive things about bloggity blogs. I love hearing from you all and your encouraging words, opinions, ideas, stories, inspiration.... everything. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you! Thank you even if you have never commented or emailed, thank you for reading. It means a lot that you take the time out of your day to read my ramblings.

I hope every one of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving spent having fun, eating a lot and having great fellowship with other's. Even if you can't be with your family this year, just remember you are in their thoughts and prayers and that they love and miss you!

Be back soon with some recipes that everyone should eat and anyone can do!

pic 1-bowery hotel; pic 2-eddie ross; pic 3-cottage living;

Pancakes, Worms and some Toilet paper

2010-11-15T13:25:00.000-06:00

Oh my goodness. I am wiped out from our fun filled and eventful weekend! I hope yours was as good as ours. I hope I can recover fast because life is about to jump into Turbo speed!

Saturday morning we woke up and sang Happy Birthday to my big 2 year old baby girl. We had pancakes with fresh strawberries and homemade real whipped cream and some bacon.

We've been practicing for a while now, trying to get Reese to say "Two" when we ask her how old she is, but she still says "WAN". So I thought it might be easier to hold up 2 fingers and this is her interpretation.

Camo boy was eating fast so he could get out in the back yard to dig up a worm. Why you ask?

For this little guy... or girl.... well whatever it is Luke named this Ringneck snake Raider. I found him in our garage and Luke was so excited to keep him. Graham had a Ringneck snake when he was little and called him Ringo, so I thought it was so great for Luke to have him.

We even got Ringo's old cage that has been saved ALL these 20-something years for another little creature to move into. It's perfect!

After a yummy breakfast of our pancakes and worms (for Raider), Graham and I headed to Auburn for the game. I hope everyone watched it, even if you aren't an Auburn fan.

One of the best games I've ever been to.

On our way to Toomer's, Graham and I talked about Auburn and how much we absolutely love it. I honestly don't understand how people can be "fans" of other teams. No offense and this is just my humble opinion, but Auburn is just the freakin' best all around. I love Auburn even when we aren't undefeated going to the SEC Championship. I have orange and blue blood in my veins and I was born and raised this way.

Where else can you go, on the earth, that you get to throw toilet paper through gorgeous trees in such a beautiful and historic place?!

The lady taking this pic took about 4 pictures, and this was the least blurry one. We love us some Gene!

I kept singing, "Stand by your Cam..... Give him two arms to hold him...." when we were in Auburn. All I have to say is, It's great to be an Auburn Tiger!!!!! Hope you had a great weekend too!

weegle weegle

2010-11-13T10:22:00.002-06:00

Right now we are about to head to one of my favorite places on earth.

A U B U R N !!!

Graham's uncle Luke graciously provided us with his season tickets and parking pass, sahweet! Although I feel really bad mommy guilt for leaving my birthday girl ON her birthday, we did have birthday pancakes and S'more milkshakes for a snack and we'll be celebrating with family on Wednesday. Happy Birthday sweet girl! Graham and I will be screaming at the top of our lungs and tailgating till we fall out tomorrow night.

Y'all better believe it's going to be a good game since it's the south's oldest rivalry game. Hope to see some of y'all down there :)

W A R E A G L E !!

Happy Birthday to Reese!

2010-11-13T05:50:00.000-06:00

There. is. no. way. I. am. writing. about. my. baby. turning. T.W.O.

N.O.

I can not believe that my spunky, funny, dancing, loving, feisty, absolutely b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. baby GIRL is turning 2. I am so beyond grateful to the Lord my Savior for this precious, miraculous gift He has given me.

I love having a girl. She brings me so much joy and happiness with her silly dances and loves singing to music which is my kinda girl.

Reese,

I love you beyond anything that I thought I was capable of loving. When I look at you my heart just skips a beat. Even when you are pouting and telling me, "no no no no way", I still want to snorgle you up! I kiss you about 435,988 times a day, and it never gets old to me. You have the best personality and spirit and a lightheartedness and tenderness that I pray you never, ever lose. I had no idea the weight that I would feel, knowing that as a mom and woman, I am so very influential in your life and they way you will become as a woman, a mom and a wife.

I pray every single day that God give me the wisdom, patience, love and knowledge to raise you into a woman that far surpasses anything that I ever thought I would want to be. I pray that you come to know your Jesus at a young age and that you walk and talk with Him daily. I pray that He always shine through your big, gorgeous, captivating eyes.

We all love you so so so so deeply and hope you have the best 2nd birthday ever! I can't wait to spend them all with you and paint our nails, and go to the beach, and go shopping, and cook and bake together, sing and dance and be so incredibly silly. I can't wait until I'm coming to you and your closet for fashion advice.

Daddy, Luke and I love you like crazy Reesey girl and you will never forget it.

Happy Birthday!

Goin' to the chapel

2010-11-09T07:16:00.000-06:00

Laurie Anne and Taylor are now married! They are taking a 27-hour flight to a very far away land, BALI!, and started out at 1:15 yesterday afternoon but have run into a few snafoo's. So y'all send some prayers up for them to get there safely and remain safe, since there was quite the round of catastrophe's there a few weeks ago. The wedding weekend was so much fun and so so so wonderful to see all of our family that we don't get to see nearly enough. I love being a part of weddings. It allows us to say to those that we love what we normally wouldn't express to them on a regular basis and share funny stories and just love and hug on everyone.

I had many more pics but yesterday I left while the computer was still uploading the photos and when I got home the battery had run out of juice and the computer had shut down. When I turned it back on, the pictures were nowhere to be found, not even on the memory card! So another wonderful trip up to the Apple store I go. Anybody run into this problem? I'd gladly accept any ideas or advice.

Luke was the ring bearer and did a really great job and Reese was the flower girl and was...... well....... what can I really expect from an almost 2 year old? (I can't believe I'm saying T.W.O. Her birthday is next weekend!) I can't wait to share more pictures, as soon as I have more, if I can get them. Anybody who has any send them on please! Email them to me at elainetjohnson(at)gmail(dot)com.

Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Gonzalez!!!

All we have is fun!

2010-11-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

Wowzah! It's been busy around here and I have lots to catch you up on, so this might be a long one. And it might be started right now at 6:30 a.m. but who knows when it will actually be posted.

And it's only fair to warn you, get ready for some run-on sentences.

Well, besides my car breaking down in the middle of Friday rush hour traffic, which yes is much, MUCH worse than any other day rush hour traffic on 280, and getting a blistering 2nd degree burn on Sunday, on the back of my hand (very thin skin guys) trying to make chicken stock out of the awesomely delicious roasted chicken I had just made....... we really did have an awesome weekend.

Sunday we headed to our church for the Fall Festival/Tailgate event they always have with the Life Groups. I had never been before but it was super fun with my Army man there to protect me and my adorable kitty-cat.

Fearless, G.I. Luke climbed just as high as his little heart would let him before the height fear kicked in. He's still only 5 so I'm pretty proud that he even went this high!

Then the rest of the night he pretty much did this, head first most times, sometimes sideways, and only when he was feeling really wild, feet first.

This was at the end of the night and after much candy was consumed. I grabbed Graham's arm saying, "He's gonna lose it! Look at him. Oh gosh, I hope not. Oh look at his face!", all the while snickering under my breath. I know I would have definitely lost it on this ride.

Actually, I would not have lost it on that ride because I would have never made it to that ride. I would have lost it on this ride and then probably would've begged to be taken home like a sissy girl.

G.I. Luke was fearless in this as well. He waited so patiently in line with big boys, about 10 years old or so, and jumped up and down and yelled just as they were. Then he got to get on the ride with them, whoa, excitement. He gave us a thumbs up in mid spin-they were going so fast I thought they might have lift off right into space.

Backing up a bit, on Wednesday night we went to a Trunk or Treat with my Seester, we'd been to last year and had a blast at. It had been raining all day so they had to move it inside and it was total chaos, like so chaotic that I was just laughing and praying that we would lose Cinderella, Minnie or Bob (luke was bob the builder that night), thankfully the beautiful kitty cat was strapped in her stroller and couldn't get away.

These pictures are blurry, and I apologize, not only to you, but to myself. I don't have an uber fabulous camera like this lady, this lady or this lady (and everyone else in the world it seems) but maybe one day when we aren't buying a couch, need a new mattress BADLY, just had a car in the shop and none of that's going on, I'll perhaps get one :) I'm thankful that the kids are pretty good at standing still for pictures though, considering their attention span is cut in half whenever they see a big, black lens pointed at them in front of their mom's face :D

Last year "Superman" literally, filled up his pumpkin to the top with candy and I ended up throwing probably 1/3 of it away about 3 days before the trunk or treat this year. We have to limit my Turbo or he will rot his teeth out happily, so I am glad that we only filled our pumpkins about 1/5 of the way this year! I love that wild man so stinkin' much.

Thursday night, we went to a surprise party for two of Luke's really good friends from school. Jack and Stone turned 6 and had a Lego Birthday Party, it was AWESOME.

Now that it's 12:52 I have finally gotten around to finishing. I love fall and and the busyness that it brings. I also love days like today and yesterday, where it's very overcast and grey outside and chilly and windy and all you want to do is snuggle up at home with your husband and babies and watch a movie or just play all day. Thankfully I got almost all of my errands done this morning so I might get to do this for a little bit today, excitement!

Hope y'all had a fun Halloween and are enjoying the cooler weather. Thanksgiving will be here soon!!!

Oh, and War Eagle!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T10:27:00.000-05:00

My house smells of roasted pumpkin seeds. Recipe coming soon!

Navajo Indian Rugs

2010-10-28T14:51:00.000-05:00

I am really loving these Navajo Indian rugs that I could definitely seeing being incorporated into my home some how. So unique and so totally cool.

My Pretty Mommy Recipe Exchange!!

2010-10-28T11:17:00.000-05:00

I am SO excited to be a part of the Pretty Mommy Recipe Exchange today! If you've been out of the loop and not checked Michelle out, go now. It has just about everything a mommy or lady could want in a blog! I have been wanting to share this recipe for a while now and this is the perfect time. The weather is just starting to finally cool off here and this is the perfect dish, for any time of the year, but especially days where there is a chill in the air.

Gumbo is such a crowd pleaser and this will all be gone before you know it. I've been making it for a while now and always play around with different ingredients and ways of making it. This by far is my favorite and my husband was pretty pleased with it too, considering he barely spoke during dinner due to his mouth always being full of a bite of Gumbo!

Mama's Seasoned Gumbo

4 T Flour

1/3 c. Shortening

4 Garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 onions chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

3 celery stalks chopped, with leaves

1 small can tomato paste

4 c chicken or seafood broth

2-4 c water

1 lb Conecuh Sausage (this is local sausage, Keilbasa also works)

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails on

1 lb rotisserie chicken

8-10 oz fresh or frozen okra, chopped

1 Bay leaf

1/4 t Thyme

1/4 t Parsley

1/4 t Oregano

1/4 t Paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large stockpot make a roux with the flour and shortening. Add garlic, onion, pepper and celery and cook until softened. Add tomato paste, stock and water and bring to a simmer.

In a seperate pan, saute sausage until browned or charred on the outside, this just adds extra flavor rather than putting it straight into the gumbo. Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Add sausage to stock pot along with pulled rotisserie chicken, bay leaf, thyme, parsley, oregano, paprika and salt and pepper. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add the shrimp and simmer another 30 minutes. Add the okra and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve over rice and with Charbroiled Loaf (recipe below).

Charbroiled Loaf

1 loaf of french sourdough bread

3/4 stick of real butter, room temp

sprinkle of Paprika

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to broil. Cut loaf of bread down center lengthwise, not crosswise, so you have 2 long halves. Spread room temp butter on both halves. Lightly dust with Paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Place on cookie sheet lined with foil (for easy clean up) and in the oven under the broiler. Broil until edges are very, very brown or almost black and charred looking. Slice and serve with Gumbo!

Laurie Anne's Bachelorette Party and Lingerie Shower

2010-10-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

Saturday night we started off the celebration at Cantina for a little dinner and margarita! Laurie Anne's veil for the night was made from her mom's veil. It was absolutely gorgeous! She is also using other parts of it in her actual bridal veil too and I can't wait to see it!

We had a long, leisurely dinner and laughed and talked and then headed to my house for the Lingerie portion of the night. Haley made really cute bouquets of Gerber Daisies and Bittersweet for the vintage/Anthroish theme.

Sandra made Strawberry cookies and Brownie Balls that were both mighty sweet and tasty.

I made a Cranberry, Pomegranate and Blood Orange drink and a creamy Coffee and Ice cream drink that I will be sharing the recipe with you soon (if I don't, please remind me).

Haley also made this really cute cake that was so yummy!

The bride did receive some really pretty and fun lingerie, but that's not gonna make it on the blog, sorry! I hope that everyone had as much fun as I did!

I can't really believe that they will be husband and wife in a matter of 12 days. I think it's safe to say that they are beyond ready! Love you LA and Tay!

Monday

2010-10-25T08:51:00.000-05:00

Good Monday Morning!!!

Did y'all hear that storm last night B'hammers? I love storms. There was one huge clap of thunder that, I swear, was in our bedroom. I went from a complete state of deep sleep to sitting half way up in bed with my eyes as big as this girl's goggles on her face.

Lots to catch y'all up on but time got away from me this rainy Monday mornin'. I'll be back soon!!

2010-10-19T14:52:00.000-05:00

I am here for a quick weekend recap. I have many things to get done today and am badly in need of a shower after playing tag with my sweet pea's last night for about 45 minutes, barefoot, and I stepped on a sharp rock, then I cried like a baby. Just kidding. But I wanted to. I seriously thought I cracked the ball of my foot, then thought about all the heels I wouldn't be able to wear, and how I might not ever be able to run again. Just kidding about that too.

The truth is it really did hurt, but I shook it off, and kept playing until I realized it was 5:58 and I had n.o.t.h.i.n.g. for dinner ready...... thank you to whoever discovered that selling rotisserie chicken in the grocery store was a good idea. I can make like 3 meals out of those for about 6 bucks. So we had chicken, black bean and caramelized onion tacos with wild rice (i was out of spanish rice), and I made some Guac.

pic

Back to the weekend. When we go to the lake on weekends, I feel like my weekend really begins on Friday morning because mostly the day is geared toward packing and gathering food for the weekend at the lake. So this Friday was no different, except for one incident I wasn't expecting. I had taken Luke to school as usual, run a few errands -- and by that I mean spent way too much time in Target, bought too many things of which I am returning today -- and headed home.

My mac has been getting super hot lately and the charger specifically. I researched it and found that other's have had this problem and said they would just close it and let it cool off for a bit. So I've been doing this and we are adamant about not leaving it charging and as soon as it hits 99% battery life, I unplug it until it gets down to about 12%. Well, I was standing in my kitchen and happen to look up at my charging computer only to see SMOKE coming out of it! I ran over to it and saw a FLAME coming out of the charger cord about a 1/2" tall!!! Gasped and jerked the cord out and took it out of the wall as fast as I could. I decided to give good 'ole Apple a call but didn't get through. So after I picked Turbo up, we headed to the Summit.

Let me set the scene: Two children, hungry, kind of cranky and tired, in a store where everything you touch is uber expensive, packed full because it was lunch time and me with my bag of computer, burned charger cord, the box that it came in with the receipt that was dated October 16, 2009. It was October 15, 2010. 364 days had passed and it was still under it's 1 year warranty. PTL.

** Can I just share with you that had I not been at home, standing in my kitchen in plain view of the gray smoke, I would have come home to a house engulfed in flames. Seriously. Our computer normally sits on our fabric ottoman, which would have furiously caught on fire, and everything around it would have caught on quickly. I am considering calling Apple to talk with them about this. Thank. you. Jesus. that for this reason, I didn't leave to run a quick errand before picking Luke up from school. I am so thankful.**

I've talked too much and now I need to speed talk.....

I was able to get an appointment quickly, which almost never happens, and tried to help Luke play Batman on their kid computers, and wrestle with Reese to stay in the stroller and then gave in and let her get down only to be called up to the desk and turn around to check on her and she's laying on the floor, under the table, playing with the master plug for the computer's.... AH!!!! So, they were in shock about what I was showing them and that the cable caught on fire. Gave me a new charger, wrote up a report on it and sent me on my way. Phew!

Made a quick stop to Chic-fil-yum, and headed home to throw clothes and whatever food I could find into bags and cooler's to head to the lake earlier than usual. No naps at home today, only naps in the car for a peaceful ride down since we are leaving earlier than normal. Waited on husband to call to tell me he was on the way, no call. I call him, no answer. 2 1/2 hours later he comes home. Oh man, I decide not to say anything since I don't have any nice thoughts running around in my head right then.

We didn't really do much of anything, which is always nice. I made Santa Fe Soup (Taco Soup and probably 18 other names) and I'll post the recipe later this week, had awful allergies all weekend but it was ok because one of my favorite movies was on, The Holiday.

Auburn won, big time. War Eagle!

This week I am getting ready for my sister in love's Bachelorette Party and Lingerie Shower!! We are going to have a wonderful leisurely dinner at a yummy restaurant and then head back here to our house to have lots of fun :) I'll definitely share some pics with you next week as long as I can keep up with all those young chicks! If y'all have a yummy cocktail you want to share I'd love to hear!

Thoughts:
-I am trying to find cute and simple children's shoes that aren't $75. **
-Husband and Ree Ree have had a cold. I hate being sick so I'm loading up on the vitamins to avoid this.
-Please don't bring your child to church or the gym if they have green snot running down their face.
-It's the middle of October. Shut up!
-My kids really want a dog. My husband really wants a dog. I really do NOT want a dog..... what's a girl gotta do?

**update- I just bought these for Ree Ree and when I get them I'll let you know how they work. I think they will be ridiculously cute :)

2010-10-15T08:16:00.000-05:00

Hi,
How are you this morning? Are you good? Have you had your caffeine fix? I have so much on my mind, once again. I will share. In reverse order because I can remember the last thing first..

Yesterday, all day and night.
Neverthirst. The benefit was last night and it was incredible. Everything went so smoothly, it was seriously so much fun, the food was delicious, the decor was perfect, the crowd and volunteers were so nice and friendly, the swag at the auction was pretty darn good, music was amazing... I could go on and on, but if I do say so myself, the drinks were pretty tasty. The wonderful "Water Bar" was tended to by myself and my friend Meg and her sweetie Ben.
I am very upset with myself for not taking pictures of it all, but thankfully Laura is always remembering to bring her camera and capture the moment and we are always so thankful for it!!! (I think I need a smaller point and shoot and that will help me take more pics) So as soon as I can get my hands on some photos, I will be sharing them with you and doing a more substantial post.
The only other thing that I'll say about that is Nat (aka Natalie) did such an amazing job. I could not stop telling her how proud of her that I was. Everything looked so great, so creative, not overdone and made a statement about the night and why we were there. She made me (and Meg) start to cry like only a mama would (who we missed greatly GiGi!).

Babies
My friend Paige and her husband Jonathan just welcomed their first baby into the world and he could NOT be any cuter!!! I am so excited for their little family and can't wait to see precious Sam and gobble him up!
My other friend Carrie is pregnant and due soon and my sister is going to have her third next year. I love all these babies!

Gmail
What is up with Gmail. The HTML version and upgrading Safari.... I didn't need to upgrade but I did it anyway, and it's still making me view it in the HTML version. Any other Gmailer's out there having this happen?

Falling into the holiday's
It's the middle of October and I can't believe it. The next entire month is jammed packed with so many things and that's even before Thanksgiving! My Christmas approach is to start thinking about gifts a few months before to spread it all out. I'm not into maxing out my credit card and freaking out when the bill arrives. That would be WAY too easy for me too. I would be buying gifts for the man who is always walking around our neighborhood but doesn't live here, or all the employees that work at the Publix by my house (b/c it is seriously the BEST, all the other one's I've been to aren't nearly as wonderful, although, still much better than other groceries), the mail lady, the UPS man..... everyone! So I'm starting to think about now. How do y'all get ready for Christmas? Any gift ideas that you are excited about giving? Girls that are 2? Boys that are almost 6 and act like they are 10?

Ok, that wasn't everything but thank you for putting up with my brain unload on you.
We are off to Daylight Donuts before school (b/c I'm tired and can't make my brain function enough to make breakfast right now) and the grocery, and little girl shoe shopping and who knows what else!

It's Friday and that's a good thing. Peace out yo.

Mac haters

2010-10-11T16:55:00.000-05:00

Can I just ask y'all a quick question?

When you buy a printer, and granted it's not a top of the line printer, but it's a great printer none the less for what I use it for, wouldn't you think that if you had a question or a problem with it and you called customer service and after being on hold for 10 minutes and talking to 4 different people, they would be able to help you out FREE OF CHARGE? I mean you did already buy the printer.

I guess not. I have a Mac laptop. I also have an HP printer that is a 3-in-1 deal. It is compatible with Apple OSX and it's been working great! No problems so far. All I use the printer for is coupons and the occasional thing I might print off like directions. Yes, I am old school and probably the only one that doesn't have a GPS or a phone with GPS.

So basically the printer doesn't get too much use, except when Publix has some really good deals going on (and let's be honest, when do they not? i love you publix:) ) and I'm printing and saving money like a crazy woman. Ok, so all I want to do is print the dang coupons in black and white, not color. I assumed it would be fairly easy to disable or turn off the color cartridge. Nossumuch.

So 10 minutes later and after being on the phone with 3 different HP people, I talk to this guy for about 30 seconds only to find out that he/HP wants to charge me $40, just to tell me how to disable the color ink on my printer for a MAC.

A PC is free of charge, but not a MAC.

Why does it always feel like this? Why are people so anti-mac/apple? Why do they want to help the PC peeps and not the Apple peeps?

I searched and searched and exhaustively searched the bajeesuz out of my "issue" and have found nothing. I am definitely not super savvy in my MAC lingo and figuring all that stuff out, but I wouldn't think it should be too hard.

Does anyone else feel like this? Does anyone know how to disable the color ink on an HP photosmart printer through a Mac? Am I doomed because I don't have a PC? I don't really want to keep buying $40 color ink cartridges just for couponing...... hmmmm........

Thanks for listening. Y'all are great. I promise I'll be back with a more meaty post. I am working on some recipes for soups and stuff.

All I want for Christmas....

2010-10-08T10:33:00.000-05:00

He wanted to show the bloooooood because it's not gross but so cool.

Oh baby

2010-10-07T18:28:00.001-05:00

WORD. UP.

Well, I am so excited to tell you that baby #3 is on the way!!!!!!

For my sister that is :D Muahahahhahaha

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Did you know that I LOVE to play tricks? I do. Not mean tricks, but nice tricks..... if that's not an oxymoron I don't know what is!

But I love tricking my sweet, naive husband. He usually falls for it. Until he asks the special word. The word that no matter what, if you don't say this word, it's definitely not true. Gets me every time.

Anyway, my sister is expecting her THIRD baby in June!!!! Surprise!!!! I can't to wait to meet that sweet bundle of baby. And while we are all very excited, her husband is a resident who works a ton, she is a nurse working at nights and well, lots of other details to be figured out along the way. So I would really appreciate prayers for all 5 of them!!!

These are my gorgeous sister's in NYC without me :(

I had this nail polish first! Just to let everyone that I think I am the least stylish of the 3, but I did have this first. So not all hope is lost :) And by the way, I love this nail polish.

Ok, I'm going to go cry now :( And keep emailing them about 2 fantastically beautiful chairs that I'm completely drooling over, but won't get. If I don't get them, then I might just share them with you.

Oh yea, and we are eating Gumbo tonight. Recipe to come if it turns out tasty.

Neverthirst

2010-10-05T08:20:00.000-05:00

Morning y'all!

One of my very best friend's Natalie works for Neverthirst. Have you heard of it? It kinda rocks, to say the least.

Neverthirst is an organization that raises funds and awareness to drill water wells and bring CLEAN water to the poorest villages in the Central African Republic, India, Sudan but is not limited to just these places. Check out their map.

The coolest part about how Neverthirst works is that they go through the local churches in each of the villages. The villager's love and trust their churches and the churches are there to stay, ensuring the longevity of the mission of sharing the gospel through the water at the well. The local church and pastor of each village get all of the credit and are able to use the well as a tool to share God's word to non-believer's.

Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
John 7:37-38

On October 14th at 6 p.m. the 2nd Annual Water is Life Benefit is going to be held at Old Car Heaven in downtown Birmingham. All the money raised goes to support Neverthirst to raise funds and awareness and to drill water wells for these villages that walk miles and miles every single day just for water to survive.

This night will be so much fun and have a lot of exciting things. The photo displays will give you a glimpse of Neverthirst at work and the ministry that they are, there will also be a silent auction with some pretty great incentives, food by Olexa's, great music, a "Water Walk" in which you can attempt to carry the amount of water, for a short distance, that the women in the villages do every day and so much more!

You might have seen the ad on Fly Through Our Window, and you can check out much more by clicking on any of the links and check out photo's and video's on their website.

Tickets can be purchased for $50 by emailing Nat at natalie@neverthirstwater.org
Or you can donate if you feel led to and 100% of it is given away!!!!

I am so so so excited to be able to be a part of this and volunteer to help Nat for a very special night.

Happy Tuesday peeps!!!

Bittersweetness

2010-09-30T07:47:00.000-05:00

Right now......
My husband is headed to do some prison time and I don't know when he'll be back, construction that is (you'd thought I'd married a criminal didn't you?), I am sitting in my living room right now with my baby girl beside me drinking her sippy cup of milk in her footie pj's, Luke on the floor playing cars on the coffee table in his pj's, we are watching Yo Gabba Gabba (does anyone remember Zoobilee Zoo?) kinda different but I actually love it and think it's hilarious, the washer and dryer are both going, I'm in my workout clothes and psyching myself up to kick my booty at the gym this a.m. and in the mean time my little sister is probably at work by now in NYC, and my older sister is on a jet plane headed up that way.

It is sweet because I am so happy that my older and younger sister get to spend some awesome, quality and sisterly time together but I am also bitter because I want to be there right alongside them too. I started to look at previous trips to NY and fell in love with these pics all over again.

I could never love anyone as I love my sister's

~Jo March, Little Women

I told them they had to send me pictures and take a picture of me like I was there with them, and if they went to a really great restaurant, they had to ask for the chef or owner and get a picture with them. I love doing this and meeting these master chef's. Love y'all and have so much fun!!!!

Later gator's!!!

2010-09-29T08:15:00.000-05:00

So much is on my mind this morning. Nothing that is urgent or wrong, just life!

I just opened my devotional book that I love and have told y'all about before, Jesus Calling, and the date read September 24th....... I hadn't read it since then.... that's 5 days.

This is funny because I wrote that first sentence before I even opened the book and the third sentence says, "Not one of your thoughts escapes My notice". Hello!

Then this morning I was thinking about how much I love my friends. They are pretty great. Some of them I've been friends with for a long time and some not as long and some new friendships are starting out (excuse me, Luke just informed me, with a mouth full of apple, that his tooth hurts and I see that he has a new molar coming in and needs some medicine........ ok I'm back- i love my boy) anyway, I am very blessed. They all live within about 1 minute of each other and can literally walk to each other's houses. Sometimes I gripe about not living as close and feel like I am missing out on everything, which is definitely not true. It's just my sinful and greedy nature, it's ugly.

In the second paragraph it says, "I desire to be your closest Friend". This is sometimes a struggle for me because so much about a friendship is "face time" or talk time. Then I re-read the top paragraph and it reads, "I always behold you Face to face". Hello again!

Man, He must know me! I know the author is the one that actually wrote the book, but do you think that for a second that God wasn't writing completely through her? No way!

I love how things like this are revealed to me at such a perfect time. His timing is perfect whether I know it or not. He is our best friend, that literally gave up a child for us. Think about that. Pretty major.

I'll just put these 2 pictures in here because they are so hilarious. This is Luke on our way to supper club,

and Reese on the way home rockin' out to some Thomas rap music,

Happy Wednesday!!

War Eagle!

2010-09-27T14:29:00.000-05:00

Graham sent this to me and I had to share it with all the Auburn fans. The eagle flew so low that these people are ducking down. I am laughing SO hard at everyone's expressions! See if you can find someone you might know!

War Eagle!!!!

5-K

2010-09-22T07:59:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I forgot to share pictures of Luke's first day of Kindergarten!!

Our tradition for the first day of school

"It's too bright Mom!!!"

SO excited about school!

My babies!!

So lucky that he gets to go to school with his best friend and cousin

I couldn't leave these out. I put her hair in a teeny tiny pony tail and she wanted to wear the headband.

She looked so much older that it didn't stay in very long

Boy time playing trains. I jumped in the room to take 1 picture and then jumped back out and Turbo wasn't too thrilled.

A sitting jpeg

2010-09-21T16:04:00.001-05:00

Sitting on my desktop,

Lovin' this outfit

and will be recreating this outfit if it ever gets below 95 degrees

whatiwore

This would be such a fun getaway with my husband : )

atlanta bartlett

Inspired for Fall, hurry up please!

I love this chick, and she loves that popcorn.

They hold hands in the car almost all the time

So excited to get a ride from her best friend

Drooling. The floors. The butcher block island and counter tops. The chandelier. The roman shade. The natural light. And even though you can only see a corner, the beautiful and delicious range!

I'll stop now.

Very excited about this dress. I'll be rockin' it at Laurie Anne's wedding in just about 6 short weeks. I hope I'll be rockin' it at least. She said she liked this for me and even though it's definitely different ~~(and could possibly accentuate my derriere)~~

I LOVE it so much!!!

Love this disheveled yet pulled together hair on Jessica Biel.

I might be purchasing these shoes for the dress too.

urban

And I just plain LOVE these.

Graham, are you ok with all these purchases? You don't mind right? I mean you said that I could buy some "flat" shoes (b/c sometimes I'm called giant lady b/c I'm seriously 5'9" and in heels.... well much taller) and although I realize neither of these shoes are "flats", the heel is really not that high and I could get TONS of use out of them. No? We need to buy a couch? Ugh, I know. You're right.

But...... if you happen to change your mind.......

let me know ; ) Oh, ya, don't you have a guys weekend coming up sometime soon? ; )

poetrie

Ok anyway, back to this. I love this casual outfit that I can make right out of my closet! And the hair too.

The hair! Can I borrow her hair team for a day? How do you get this look? My hair is curly, but not like this.

If this were my bedroom, I'd never come out.

luxeandlillies

Unless it was to cook something completely fabulous, organic and gourmet in this kitchen for my party.

Ok, that's all I got. I'm in the process of ridding my old clothes, that I haven't worn in years, my closet. My friend Nat inspired me : ) It's a slow process. I keep doing that thing we talked about, where you go back through the pile, and start to re-think it and justify to yourself, "Well, maybe one day I'll wear it again..... it will come back in style and I'll wish I had it!".... ugh, I might need an intervention.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. I really love it. It's a lot of fun. And y'alls comments are way too nice. You're too good to me, I'm very grateful for it though :) Ok now I'm blushing.

SO THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Smoked Salmon on Wild Rice and Spinach with a Balsamic Vinaigrette

2010-09-20T08:34:00.000-05:00

Good Monday Morning!!!
Last week I took an unintentional blogging break. Friday I realized I hadn't posted at all!

Well I am making it up to you with a delicious, healthy and easy recipe. Does it get much better than that?!

We don't usually have whole Alaskan Salmon on our hands, but this was given to Graham's dad from a friend who had just gone fishing in Alaska. So we feasted!
We smoked the Salmon on the Green Egg and it was SO delicious. All we did to season it was slice some lemons and place them on the inside and and sprinkle with our favorite seasonings. Lemons, salt and pepper would be perfection.

Simplicity is key when you have fresh fish like this. Salmon has it's own great flavor in the meat and over seasoning would be an injustice!

There were a few small pin bones that you would get occasionally, but really VERY few. We ate it for dinner one night and had more then enough leftover's for the next day's lunch.

So that is the recipe I am sharing with you today!

Smoked Salmon over a bed of wild rice and spinach salad with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Y.U.M.

Smoked Salmon on Wild Rice and Spinach with a Balsamic

Vinaigrette

16 oz. cooked/smoked Salmon

1 bag fresh baby spinach

4 T feta cheese

2 c cooked wild rice

Balsamic Vinaigrette

salt and pepper to taste

Lemon (optional)

Spoon 1/2 c wild rice (slightly cooled) onto each plate. On top of the rice, place a handful or about 1 c loose spinach. Drizzle vinaigrette onto spinach evenly. Break up salmon or leave in 1 piece and place on top of rice and spinach bed. Add feta cheese on top and salt and pepper if needed. Spritz with lemon juice on top and serve!

Serves 4.

Foosball and another toothy tale

2010-09-14T07:55:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend. Sunday after hours and hours (and we missed Life Group! ugh) of yard work, Graham and Luke played a little football in the front yard. It was hilarious watching them.

Graham said he accidently hit Luke in the eye with the ball so he had to wear his hat to protect him. He looked like he was about 10 years older, so he had to reassure me that, "Mommy, I'm still only FIVE! Not fifteen! Don't you get it?"

Turbo is showing his first top tooth that has been loose for a while. And if you are new here, well, you can read about our other tooth drama here. We knew it was barely hanging on but were not going to push it because of our past experiences. Blood is not his thang.

Copy cat :)

I was absolutely cracking up because he kept changing his hat. Backwards, upside down, backwards and upside down, crooked, on the side.... it was SO funny.

Reese just walked herself right over there and picked that ball up and RAN! "Bobo" in hand of course!

So Luke had to do what any great ball player would have done, tackle her! She loved it and nobody got hurt.

Then she ran to be all crazy like and fell again. I don't know if it was on purpose or not....

Why can't our hair stay like this? My hair was this blond when I was young, and now look at it! I mean, perfect natural highlights, soft and silky and great texture.

I could gobble her up!

Ok so y'all. This happened last night! Right at bed time of course! We have been gently encouraging him to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle that tooth and he has been. Mr. Johnson and I have given it a few gentle tugs

to help it along too and last night when Mr. J got home, I had decided that this was the night it was comin' out! So they headed to the bathroom and after much discussion I heard a horrible scream, something about blood and crying.

3 minutes later he came out with a big grin and a big hole!

He was so excited and proud of himself for pulling it out on his own. This is his 4th tooth to come out and it actually came out in a normal way. The first one, that you can read about in the link above, came out with the "help" of the dentist, the second one he was eating a S'more at a birthday party and screamed, and the third one he got kicked in the mouth at soccer practice. Bless his little heart!

The tooth fairy came and left him two dollars. He doesn't want to save it like mama suggested, he is giddy with excitement with what he is going to buy. A new train set? A Thomas movie? Hotwheel color changer car? There is always a lot of back and forth about how much $2 actually is.

Luke is tho exthited about hith firtht top mithing tooth :)

They grow up tho fatht :)

2010-09-13T08:43:00.000-05:00

Good Monday morning bloggers!!!

I realized that I never updated you on what I was going to do with the Chifferobe. I had some glass shelves custom cut and finished and it worked out perfectly!

The shelves aren't "styled" yet and I kinda just threw some stuff in there. I love it though and I think it's so pretty in her room!

Hope y'all had a great weekend! Pictures of what we did coming soon hopefully :)

Calling all hippies!

2010-09-10T08:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I paid a visit to a place that I've not been to in a couple years. Last time I scored big time and was hesitant to go in fear that I would drive 20 minutes and find nothing, or find too many things!

Well, I got very lucky! I've had some corduroy blazers sitting in my cart several places around the internet, but they were about $100 or more. I definitely lucked out finding this and I'm going to get it tailored just a bit on the arms.

Sorry for the fuzzy picture!

Then I saw this wrap skirt and almost died. I think it's so cool! My stylist, Riley, said I could pair it with a t-shirt or tank and my cowboy or "fried" boots and a thick woven belt. Perfect!

I also think that I could wear it with tights some how when it gets colder, but that's a loooong way away down in the south. And can I just say that it is about 1/2" thick. It is like a carpet that you wrap around your waist. I distinctly remember wearing stuff like this in 2nd grade- What were those, like burlap poncho things that everyone had that were SO itchy but SO cool?!

This is another fun find :) I am, or actually already did during the Auburn game last night (did you watch the game?! ah!), making it shorter and going to wear it with tights and boots or something.

I've seen so many skirts like this lately with thick elastic waistbands. It kind of a thin, swingy, silky material and the colors and pattern are SO pretty- or at least I think so!

I swear I had a skirt like this when I was younger. I am going to try and find the picture. Another wrap skirt too. These are such a good idea, why don't people make these anymore? All I have to do is move the fastener a little and it'll be good to go!

See those circle things on the side?

Oh my gosh, they chingy ching. I can't decide of I want to chingy ching when I wear this, or if I should keep it authentically vintage and leave them on.

This jacket, literally, fits perfectly. I love it. It is like a riding jacket/English woman's/fabulousness.

This is a men's corduroy jacket in a camel color. It is in perfect condition. Graham tried it on and it just needs the sleeve's shortened about a 3/4".

I also got a navy blue knit skirt that was long and I cut it off last night. It will be perfect for fall. I don't have a picture because it was kinda boring.

Ok, we are late for school now! AH, crud!!

Hope you have a fabulous Friday!!!

Labor Day Part 2

2010-09-09T07:27:00.000-05:00

I know someone can just take a GANDER at what Reese is doing in this picture. First one to guess right win's a million-trillion-gagamilbagillion dollars! Ok, sorry folks, I just checked my bank account and I apparently don't have that much money..... or nearly even close. OOPS! Sorry!

How about just a shout out! And if I know you and see you a huuuuug?

Labor Day Part 1

2010-09-08T07:39:00.000-05:00

in love

....... even more to come!!

2010-09-07T06:12:00.001-05:00

I need some input if you have any experience with either of these companies regarding the furniture.

We need a new sofa and can't spend a lot.... new tires, car, schooling.... blah blah. Here are some that we've been looking and talking about and if you have anywhere else that you can recommend I'd love to hear!!

Home Decorator's Collections

This is from Ikea in the Ektorp collection

Two completely different looks, both around the same price. The first two from Home Decorator's I love and to me they look really nice and expensive. Although the Beige doesn't scream practical with a house of chillen's, I can't help but love the clean light look when everything else we have is somewhat on the darker side. The Slate Blue...... oh my gosh, I love it. Nuff said.

I hate to buy something off of the internet without taking it out for a "test sit" and getting the feel of it. The slipcovered look is welcoming comfy and very practical. But this is the only color I like and I'm always second guessing Ikea and their quality.

So HELP!! If you have any input, please, put it in the comments section, email, call, text, sos, sign language (yes I know some sign language) any way that you feel led.

Thank you and have a nice day :)

weegle sunsets

2010-09-05T16:14:00.000-05:00

war eagle.

at the lake on the most perfect weekend ever.

lots of pics to come soon..... but not too soon.

i've got a 5 year old calling my name to go jump off the dock and a 1 year old calling my name to go throw rocks into the lake and dig in some mud.

hope you are having the most perfect weekend ever too :)

Agave Margarita

2010-09-03T13:44:00.000-05:00

Pure. Simple. Fresh. Delicious.

I like Tequila. I like Margaritas. I do not like the pre-made mix that is neon green and is about as sour as, well, it is just way too sour for me. This is one of my favorite drinks and it's oh so delicious!

This is just your regular stemless wine glass.

Put this much Agave Nectar into your glass.

I got my nectar at Fresh Market.

Squeeze this much FRESH lime juice into your glass on top of the agave. If you don't use fresh, it doesn't taste the same, even if says fresh on the bottle. That AIN'T fresh folks!

When I was younger and lived in Naples/Marco Island, we had lemon and lime trees next to the canal in our back yard. I wish I still had one.

Stir. Stir. Stir. Marry that nectar to that lime. Once they get to know each other better, I promise they will learn to love each other and will live happily ever after..... in your belly.

Put this much ice in there. Lots. We want it to be very cold. But leave enough room to stir a lil at the end.

Count to 4 ooooorrrr 5 when SLOWLY pouring your clear tequila, for one serving. I like to taste the tequila but not for it to be front and center.

Top off with water and add a slice, no wedges, of lime for a garnish.

Stir. Stir. Stir. I also get a spoon and mash the Lime at the bottom to release more juice and it helps to mix the ingredients together.

Yum. Sip. Relax. Thank me :) I'll be doing this tonight about 8 when the kids are in bed at the lake. Bliss.

Ok, wait, you want a real recipe? Like measurements? I mean, I guess I can just throw some measurements out there. But just know that you can tweak it to satisfy those buds on your tongue. Be kind to them, they are your friends.

Agave Margarita

2 Tbs. Agave Nectar

1 Lime, squeezed to death (about 4 Tbs)

3 ounces Clear Tequila

Water

Ice

Combine nectar, lime juice and stir until nectar dissolves. Add clear tequila, fill glass with ice and top off with water. Garnish with a round of lime and indulge!

Serves 1

Tips & Tidbits

Do you roll? I like to roll. To get the most juice out of your Lime, roll on the counter while pressing down. I usually roll pretty hard if you know what I mean. It releases more juices and is easier to squeeze. Then when I cut the lime into wedges, I squeeze over the edge of a spoon or fork and work it a little to get even more juice.

Do you salt? I don't salt. To me, it's just way too much salt. If you do like the salt but not that much, try sprinkling a pinch of sea salt on top and you will still get the flavor of the salt without the mass quantity.

Do you like a splash of orange? If I'm feeling crazy, I'll add a squeeze of a fresh orange. But only sometimes and only fresh. This drink is supposed to be fresh.

I've also been known to shake it instead of stir it. It's still yummy.

**No drinking and driving. I like you and I want you to come back to me safe and without being behind bars. And put the kids to bed before indulging in this. You can't really fully enjoy sips in between pj's, brushing teeth, chasing nekkid and slippery kids around the house after bath's, saying your prayers and rocking precious babies.

Hope you have a SAFE and HAPPY Labor Day weekend!!!

Goin' to the chapel

2010-09-03T08:33:00.000-05:00

So.............. my little sister-in-love is getting married! Graham's family has always said in-love's instead of in-law's and I love it.

I am so happy for Laurie Anne and Taylor to have found each other. I can honestly say that God has made them for one another.

Congratulations!! Love you!!!!

Devotional mix up

2010-09-01T09:03:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I read the wrong day in my devotional book, Jesus Calling. I know that this happened on "purpose". I love this book and have posted about it here and here. I read September 1st' (firsts? 1st's? grammatically correct people, what's the correct way to say that?) instead of August 31st'. Even with the most insignificant details of our lives, God cares, He has a purpose. He's planned it down to the smallest thought of me remembering,"Oh, I need to read my devotional. What day is today? I think it might be September 1st, yea, it is... I'll just read it." It said,
"Seek Me with your whole being. I desire to be found by you, and I orchestrate the events of your life with that purpose in mind. When things go well and you are blessed, you can feel Me smiling on you. When you encounter rough patches along your life-journey, trust that My Light is still shining upon you. My reasons for allowing these adversities may be shrouded in mystery, but My continual Presence with you is an absolute promise. Seek Me in good times; seek Me in hard times. You will find Me watching over you all the time." Deut 4:29, Hebrews 10:23, Psalm 145:20

It was, as always, a wonderful reading. I can always relate it to my life and it helps me to focus forward on my day ahead. Of course I had the best intentions to look up the bible verses and then got distracted, just like I always get pulled away when I'm doing a post. It's a bummer. But it's normal! I have 2 kids!

So, this morning, I read yesterday's devotional b/c I felt like it would kind of balance things out :)
August 31,
"GROW STRONG IN YOUR WEAKNESS. Some of My children I've gifted with abundant strength and stamina. Others, like you, have received the humble gift of frailty. Your fragility is not a punishment, nor does it indicate lack of faith. On the contrary, weak ones like you must live by faith, depending on Me to get you through the day. I am developing your ability to trust Me, to lean on Me, rather than on your understanding. Your natural preference is to plan out your day, knowing what will happen when. My preference is for you to depend on Me continually, trusting Me to guide you and strengthen you as needed. This is how This is how you grow strong in your weakness."
James 4:13-15; Proverbs 3:5 (AMP); Isaiah 40:28-31

I definitely do not consider myself a weak or frail person. In fact, when I read, "Other's, like you" I made an awful face, like me? frail? I am not frail. Kinda put me off for a minute. But then I sat with it for a second and thought, I guess I am frail compared to God. My faith is frail compared to other's. Then again, who has perfect faith? No one, so that must mean we are all frail and that's why we need to lean on God, rather than our own "strength". Duh!

It's hard for me, sometimes, to expose myself by revealing weaknesses that I have. There's always that feeling of judgement from other's, that think they are better than you because they don't have the same pitfalls or weakness. But then there's always so many other's that relate and think the same way.
I am definitely in a transition period in my life right now. So many things going on, wonderful and difficult things. That is what all of our lives are made of. How do we get through them? How do we make the right choices about the big and important decisions? How do we balance everything and have time for everyone?

We are all gifted in different ways. Some of us can carry loads that other's would crumble under. Some of us have talents that other's would give anything for. Some of us have things that other's only wish for. Bottom line is, it's ridiculous for us, and I mean me, to compare ourselves to other's and think that we are in some way inadequate because we don't possess that quality. We are all made differently and given these qualities for very specific reasons, and instead of want and wish for what other's have, we, and I mean I, need to take what we do have and own it. Be confident in it and use it the best way that we can! You and I have tools that we can use in our relationships, to balance them, to further them. What if I missed that opportunity because I was too busy trying to make myself be something different? What a bummer!

I hope that this makes sense because sometimes I ramble :) But this has been on my heart and I have debated on sharing and opening up, but I finally figured, what have I got to lose? Judging is a waste of time. Opening up your mind and heart to other's and acceptance is only going to make your life richer and more meaningful.

We are off to Kindergarten open house at Luke's school. That's a whole other realization that I am coming to grips with, kids growing up. What? When did this happen?! Ugh, why are they in such a hurry?

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!!!!